


What If

by PlainTiger



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Angst, Fate & Destiny, Gen, Mentions of Jules Bianchi, Psychological Drama, Relationship Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 10:51:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20656031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlainTiger/pseuds/PlainTiger
Summary: They have never been friends.





	What If

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Если](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18574231) by [PlainTiger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlainTiger/pseuds/PlainTiger). 

They have never been friends. They do chat once in a while, of course, and having a common language has helped to warm up their relationship a bit, but it never goes past the acquaintance stage. Romain has always thought of Charles as a talented young man with a bright path ahead of him, indeed, but it's not like anyone has thought otherwise. Besides, it doesn't help that they come from different generations, with only two things in common between them: their native language and Formula 1.

And yet...

Why does Romain always feel so uneasy every time he meets Charles' gaze, just as if there is some kind of mental wall that prevents them from talking in a more relaxed manner?

“Perhaps, if I ignore it, it will go away.”

A concept he has been following for a while, but to no avail. Whenever he is looking at Charles, he keeps seeing that damn elephant in the room.

He remembers all too well who was behind Charles' success, that this same man was inches away from getting a seat at Ferrari, and now he's watching Charles going the exact same path. This whole situation has been giving Romain creeps.

There's no place for feelings once you're on the track, however. The moment the lights go out, you leave all that makes you a human being behind and meld with your own car. Nothing should distract you, not even the most horrific crashes.

That first turn in Spa, he's been there before. This time he doesn't even react, too busy with evading the whole mess and escapes unscathed. Charles is okay, too, despite the look of that crash. However, were it not for the halo...

This is where it gets him. All these feelings are coming back, when he sees the moment on replay and looks into Charles' eyes, trying to figure out if everything is okay; when he asks himself “_what if_”.

He already knows the answer. After all, he's the one who created this mental wall, so that he wouldn't have to recover once again.

The fact that they are both here at the same time — the one who had his mentor killed in a crash and the one who's been causing the crashes himself — sounds like a cruel joke. Yet even if it is not a coincidence, Romain can't do much else. His only option is to hope that “_if_” will never come.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first time writing fanfiction in English. To be more precise, it's a translated version of my earlier fic, but with some minor improvements over the original version, so it's not a direct translation.  
Feel free to point out any mistakes, be it grammar or vocabulary.


End file.
